Engadget RSS Feedhttp://www.engadget.com
Engadgethttp://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gifEngadgethttp://www.engadget.com
en-usCopyright 2015 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/12/dell-chromebook-11-gxtx2a/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/12/dell-chromebook-11-gxtx2a/http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/12/dell-chromebook-11-gxtx2a/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments

After winning a Best of CES Award last month and then releasing what appears to be everyone's favorite new laptop, Dell is already back in the news: The company today announced not one, but four new products. And they run the gamut too, including a Chromebook, a Windows laptop and a tablet that runs either Android or Win 8. While this might seem like a random assortment, they all have this in common: They're aimed at classrooms, and were designed to take a beating from careless children.%Gallery-slideshow265895%%Gallery-slideshow266460%

I initially wasn't going to bother writing a longer piece about Acer's new 15-inch Chromebook. I figured the last thing you wanted from me during the busiest week in tech news were hands-on photos of yet another laptop, especially when we already review so many same-y Chrome OS devices. Then it occurred to me: Although this is the first-ever 15-inch Chromebook, not to mention the largest, Acer never actually made a case for why it should exist, and it's a question that many of my peers at other tech publications don't seem to be asking. Does anyone need a notebook this big that basically just runs the Chrome browser? I belatedly spent some time with one to try and find out.%Gallery-slideshow258102%

I've been spending a lot of time with Chromebooks. About one a month for the last six months, if my math is correct. Lately, though, I've found myself in the somewhat unusual situation of testing two models at once. Two very different models, I should add. On the one hand, we have the Toshiba Chromebook 2, which brings a full HD, 1080p display and a relatively big 13-inch screen. At $330, it's a good deal compared to similar machines, but it's also on the pricier end for a laptop that basically just runs the Chrome browser. On the other, we have Samsung's newest laptop (also called the Chromebook 2), which has a smaller size and also a smaller price: just $250. But the design is nice and in a way, so is the keyboard. So what matters more, then? A dazzling screen or a faux-leather lid? Robust audio or being priced to sell? Check out our two reviews (Samsung and Toshiba) and decide for yourself.

Competition is a beautiful thing. When Samsung first came out with its 13-inch Chromebook 2 earlier this year, it quickly became one of our favorite budget laptops, mostly because it was the only Chrome OS device with a sharp, full HD screen. Even so, it was hardly perfect: Its performance could have been faster; it was missing a full-size SD slot; and, at $400, it was kinda pricey too. Here's where that competition thing comes in. First Acer released something similar at a lower price, and now Toshiba is selling a full HD Chromebook of its own, also called the Chromebook 2. While it matches Samsung pixel for pixel, the price is also a good deal lower: just $330 for the top-of-the-line model. But let's not judge a machine purely by its spec sheet, shall we? How does the new Chromebook 2 actually perform? There was only way to find out: Use it as my primary laptop for a week.%Gallery-slideshow252066%

It's no secret that Chromebooks have been on the rise, especially in classrooms, and now Google has scored another big win: New York City officials just formally approved the use of Chromebooks in public schools. In a statement, Hal Friedlander, Chief Information Office at the New York City Department of Education, said that he gave Chromebooks the OK in part because some schools were already using Google Drive and other Apps for Education. In addition, Friedlander cited all the reasons Google has been pushing Chromebooks to schools in the first place: They're easy to integrate into existing systems, they don't require any additional training for staff and they're easy for IT departments to manage. So no surprises there. Additionally, Friedlander said the Department of Education worked with various Chromebook manufacturers to make sure they met the city's technical requirements. No word on which models made the cut, exactly, but we think you all know by now who the major players are.

When it comes to the Chromebook, Google isn't shy about its beliefs that it is the perfect computing device for education sectors around the world. And here in the US, schools and students have started to feel the same way. In a blog post, where it highlights different ways in which educational institutions in California are using Chromebooks, Google pointed out that recent IDC numbers have its line of computers as being the best-selling device in K-12 education. The report takes into consideration laptops and tablets, so this is a notable achievement for the technology company.

After years of getting little respect, Chromebooks are finally on the rise (at least in schools), which means every major PC maker is trying to get in on the action. That includes chip makers too, like NVIDIA. Though the company previously shied away from Chrome OS devices, it's now pledging to power a whole range of different Chromebooks with its Tegra K1 chip, each of them promising long battery life and more graphics muscle. The Acer Chromebook 13 is the first of the bunch, and while some of you might be Chromebook'd out, we were actually excited. Here was a $300 laptop boasting at least 11 hours of battery life, a 1080p display option and enough horsepower to clobber Intel at things like gaming and rich websites. As it turns out, it was all just a little too good to be true.%Gallery-slideshow221107%

Is the PC dead? Well, that depends on who you ask. Still, no one can deny that people's habits have changed drastically over the past few years, namely due to the rise of smartphones and tablets. Samsung, for example, has found huge success selling mobile devices worldwide, but it doesn't look like the company is having the same luck with laptops, at least not in Europe.PC Advisor first broke the news earlier that Samsung was planning to exit the laptop market (Chromebooks included) in The Old Continent, and the South Korean electronics giant has since corroborated this report. "We quickly adapt to market needs and demands," Samsung said in a statement. The Galaxy brand maker did say "this is specific to the region," adding that it isn't "necessarily reflective" of the state of its distribution strategy elsewhere. You can read Samsung's official comment in full after the break.

Toshiba isn't showing off a whole lot here at IFA, Europe's biggest trade show. That said, the stuff it has announced at least manages to run the gamut. Today, for instance, the company unveiled both a slimmed-down Chromebook 2 and the Satellite Radius 11, a small-screened Windows convertible. Starting with the former, the Chromebook 2 has the same 13-inch screen size as its predecessor, along with the same textured plastic design. This time, though, it's thinner and lighter, at 2.95 pounds, with the sort of compact dimensions you'd expect to find on a 12-inch system. Toshiba bumped up the resolution too, so that you can now get it with a 340-nit, 1,920 x 1,080 IPS panel (the base model still has a 1,366 x 768 display). Depending on the resolution, you can expect either 11.5 hours of battery life on the lower-res version, or nine hours with full HD. In addition, Toshiba added Skullcandy audio. The firm seems proud of it, but after a few minutes of hands-on time, I actually found the sound to be rather tinny (it is loud, though). %Gallery-slideshow217907%

Sorry, naysayers: You're going to see a fair number of Chromebook reviews from us over the next few months. That's mostly because sales of these inexpensive laptops have shot up -- which means everyone and their mother is now making one, even companies that had previously shied away. The latest brand to join the fray is ASUS, which already has loads of experience building small, cheap notebooks. Indeed, ASUS' 11-inch C200 Chromebook ($250) looks like a 2009-era EeePC brought back to life: The spacious keyboard feels eerily familiar, as does the long, 11-hour battery life. Even so, it's not a perfect machine by any means -- in fact, it has a pretty serious flaw -- but if you're in the market for a Chromebook, it couldn't hurt to consider a company that seems to know what it's doing.%Gallery-slideshow213970%

Google's itching to get Chromebooks into classrooms (and it's doing a pretty good job too), but the search giant just went full steam ahead with another product meant to help it shape the school experience. It's called (unsurprisingly) Classroom, and the free service is finally ready for enterprising Stand And Deliver types to take it for a spin before school starts again in earnest. Haven't heard of it before? Who could blame you -- chances are it won't be as downright crucial to your day-to-day the way Gmail is... unless you're a teacher plagued by too much paper. You see, Classroom lets teachers craft assignments that can be distributed, collected and graded from a sleek web interface, as well as start discussions and issue announcements to students (in 42 languages, no less). The upsides for teachers seem pretty straightforward, but Google's gains are substantial too: between Classroom and all those cheap Chromebooks, schools itching to smarten up could easily pledge their allegiance to Mountain View rather than Redmond or Cupertino.

Until now, if you wanted a Chromebook with a full HD display, you only had one option: the 13-inch Samsung Chromebook 2. Want epic battery life? Yep, all roads lead to Samsung there, too. Well, not anymore, anyway. Acer just announced the Chromebook 13, and it matches Samsung nearly spec for spec with an optional 1080p display and NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra K1 chip, promising up to 13 hours of runtime (details on that after the break). This is interesting for two reasons. First off, although this is essentially the same class of product as what Samsung is selling, it costs $100 less: $299, versus $400 for the Chromebook 2. Sounds good, right? What's more, this is the first-ever Chrome OS device with an NVIDIA processor inside.%Gallery-slideshow210838%

Whether rightly or wrongly, Chromebooks have earned a reputation for being the new netbooks. Slowly, though, things are starting to change. The designs are starting to feel less cheap -- at least if you're Samsung. Battery life is getting longer, sometimes even better than on full-fledged laptops. And now, performance is getting stronger, too: Acer just became the first company to release a Chromebook with a Core i3 processor, one that can better withstand multitasking, gaming and whatever rich websites you're likely to visit. The C720, as it's called, is actually the same 11-inch Chromebook Acer's already been selling, just with a beefier CPU inside, and theoretically longer battery life -- 8.5 hours, up from 7.5. As ever, though, Acer kept the price down: This guy starts at just $350, just a little more than what you'd pay for a much lower-powered system from some other brands. The question is: Does processing power trump everything else? And if it does, are you better off waiting for other Core i3 models to come out?

Nothing like a public shaming to make a company do an about-face. After cutting off free LTE service for Chromebook Pixel owners earlier than expected, Google stepped in to offer users a $150 gift card. Outrage from users persisted, though, and now Verizon appears to be reversing its decision. "We do understand that a very small number of Chromebook Pixel customers may have had a promo end prematurely," a Verizon spokesperson told TechCrunch. "We apologize for this, and will work with these customers to address the situation." Based on that statement (and what a vague statement it is), it's unclear whether the carrier actually intends to restore LTE service, or whether it intends to make amends some other way. We're asking Verizon to clarify, and will update this post if we hear more.

We're sure folks from New Zealand, the Philippines, Denmark, Norway, Mexico and Chile can find ways to buy a Chromebook if they want to. But now that Google's officially bringing the minimalist laptop to their countries, it'll be easier to get one from Google Play or from partner retailers if their Play Stores (frustratingly) don't sell hardware. Google's also extending its European tour to bring Chromebooks to even more countries in the coming weeks, particularly Belgium, Italy and Spain. Sadly, the company's poem announcement didn't mention which models are coming, so we can't say if any of the countries are getting Samsung's new Chromebook 2 or Google's own pricey Pixel. That's probably because Google has yet to iron things out with manufacturers... or the author ran out of steam to rhyme after 11 stanzas.

Chromebooks seem to be having a moment. Which is odd, because for a while there, nobody seemed to be giving them a chance. Since the first Chromebook came out, about three years ago, Chrome OS devices have gotten flak for not being able to do as much as Windows machines. And to be fair, they couldn't, especially in the beginning. Manufacturers responded by slashing prices, but that led to a whole other problem: endless netbook comparisons. Indeed, many Chromebooks until now have been small, dirt-cheap and woefully low-end. To be avoided, mostly.

Lately, though, the tides have been changing. Nearly every PC maker is making a Chromebook, if not several, and many will soon be upgrading their models with heavier-duty Intel Core i3 CPUs -- processors so powerful you might actually consider a Chromebook for your next laptop. Samsung, meanwhile, is taking a different approach: It's decked out its new 11- and 13-inch Chromebook 2 laptops with a stylish faux-leather lid, similar to what it did on the high-end Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note Pro. Samsung also went with a full HD screen on the 13-inch model, making it the only notebook I know that's this cheap with this nice a display. With a starting price of $320 ($400 for the 13-incher), the Chromebook 2 is on the pricey side, but then again, you're paying for better quality. So is it worth it?

The Chromebook revolution is here and, naturally, Google is doing everything it can so that these devices keep improving even as time goes on. As such, the search giant today revealed some new things rolling out to Chrome OS laptops and desktops, including support for folders within the launcher and the ability to use hands-free voice commands (aka "OK, Google") in English. What's more, this new version of the OS, released through the Chrome stable channel, brings back the minimize button, with Google stating that it listened to your feedback and knew you really wanted the feature to be part of the window controls. Unfortunately, not all Chrome OS devices will get this -- namely, the ASUS Chromebox and Samsung Series 3 Chromebox. Google didn't say whether the update will ever come to the omitted Chromeboxes, but we'll let you know if anything changes.

If you haven't picked up a Chromebook just yet, you might want to wait a little longer. Intel has just announced plans to roll out as many as 20 new Chromebooks by the latter half of this year. This new set will be thinner, lighter, more powerful and generally more diverse in terms of design. It's clear that Google is making a play for the mainstream.%Gallery-slideshow192225%

When Lenovo gets into something, it really gets into it. Exhibit A: the company's recent Chrome OS kick: it just announced two more Chromebooks, after having released two kid's versions last month. Today's new additions include the N20 and N20p, two 11.6-inch machines with basically the same specs. The difference? The N20 is a classic clamshell laptop with a non-touch display, whereas the N20p has a touchscreen that folds backward -- yep, kind of like on the Yoga line. We say "kind of" because in this case, the screen only folds back 300 degrees, as opposed to the 360. That's still fine for watching movies and such; just don't expect to use this as a proper tablet replacement.%Gallery-slideshow188900%

]]>
chromebookchromebookschromeoshands-onlenovon20lenovon20pTue, 06 May 2014 00:01:00 -040021|20871392http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/12/feedback-loop-fire-tv-questions-remembering-windows-xp-chrome/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/12/feedback-loop-fire-tv-questions-remembering-windows-xp-chrome/http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/12/feedback-loop-fire-tv-questions-remembering-windows-xp-chrome/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#commentsWelcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week.

This week, we took a closer look at the Fire TV and answered your questions about Amazon's latest gadget, reflected on the end of Windows XP, discussed options for coding and writing on a Chromebook and shared our impressions of RBI Baseball 14. Head on past the break to find out what other Engadget users like you had to say and then join the conversation in the Engadget forums!

Here's how you unveil a product and make sure no one hears about it: Bury the news in a press release the same day you announce you're buying an iconic tech company for $3 billion. That's right: Everyone was so busy pontificating on whether Lenovo would ruin Motorola, that barely anyone noticed the company had also announced a kid's laptop. Well, we just had a chance to get hands-on with the new ThinkPad 11e ahead of its release, and while we might not normally care about kiddie PCs, a few things stick out here. First off, this is actually a collection of four different laptops, with two running Windows and two based on Chrome OS. Kind of a peculiar strategy when you think about it: How often do we get that kind of choice on the same machine? Secondly, Lenovo's offering two form factors: a traditional non-touch notebook, and another with a touchscreen that folds back into a quasi-tablet mode. Yep, it's basically a wee little Yoga, with a hinge that rotates 360 degrees. And, you know, it potentially runs Chrome OS. Now you see why we're so intrigued, right? You grown-ups probably want one too.%Gallery-slideshow188037%

It's been over a year since Samsung released a new Chromebook, and since then the competition has been heating up: Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba all sell Chrome OS devices now, as does Acer, which has been at it from day one. Accordingly, Samsung is refreshing its lineup: the company just announced the Chromebook 2, which comes in 11- and 13-inch screen sizes, and will ship next month starting at $320 for the smaller version (the bigger one costs $400).%Gallery-slideshow182408%

So, your bosses have replaced most of the office computers with Chromebooks, but you need those old Windows apps to keep you sane. If the IT folks aren't on top of it already, you may want to tell them about a remote access solution developed by Google and VMware called Horizon Desktop as a Service (DaaS). According to VMware (known for its Fusion desktop clients), DaaS gives you secure access to all your Windows apps and data by storing sensitive info on remote servers instead of devices carried around by forgetful employees. The product's only available as a subscription-based offering right now, but folks at home who can't live without their trusty Windows applications may want to hold off protesting -- it's also slated to hit the Chrome App Store sometime soon.

Back at CES, Toshiba told us that its new Chromebook would be shipping on February 16th. It appears, though, the company has decided to make it available ahead of time, as the 13-inch Chrome OS laptop is now up for grabs in the US and UK. In a small twist, however, Toshiba is listing the Haswell-powered Chromebook for $300 on its website, a small bump over the $279 price it was announced with earlier this year. That said, retailers like Adorama and Amazon do have it for around $280, so you could still enjoy that lower price after all. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, Amazon's selling the Toshiba Chromebook for £249, with shipments expected to begin February 10th.